Doha, November 22 (QNA) – The Spanish football national team will meet tomorrow its Costa Rican counterpart at the start of their campaign in Group E of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which started last Sunday and ends next December 18.
The two teams enter tomorrow’s match with the ambition of winning and securing their first points in their first confrontation in the history of the World Cup, with both teams having met previously in friendly matches three times.
The Spanish national team hopes to shine and restore the memories of “South Africa”, in which it won its first title in the World Cup in 2010. On the other hand, the Costa Rica national team seeks to obtain a new achievement that exceeds what it achieved in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil eight years ago, when it reached the quarter-finals, in the best achievement in the history of its participation in the World Cup finals.
After its exit from the group stage in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, and the second round in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, Spain is participating in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, in an attempt to restore spirit, prove itself, and strengthen its single World Cup title by gaining a second one, during its 16th participation in the World Cup.
Spain, which left the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia in the second round after losing a penalty shootout to the host country, will try to bring back the successes of South Africa 2010, by a generation of young players and other experienced players, led by Coach Luis Enrique.
Spain, the seventh in the world according to the FIFA classification issued last October, will face Germany on November 27, at Al Bayt Stadium in an expected confrontation, which may largely determine the identity of the team that will lead in that group. Spain will then face Japan in the conclusion of group stage matches on December 1, at Khalifa International Stadium.
Although coach Luis Enrique has not yet announced the final Spanish squad for the World Cup, the most prominent players who may make an appearance are David de Gea, Sergio Busquets, Jorge Merodio, Jordi Alba, Alvaro Morata, Cesar Azpilicueta, Dani Olmo, Pedri and Daniel Carvajal.
The Spanish national team will stay at the Qatar University Campus and will train on Qatar University No 3 training site.
For his part, the task of the 31st-ranked Costa Rican national team, which is participating for the 6th time in the World Cup finals and the third in a row, will not be easy after it was drawn into Group E alongside Spain, Germany and Japan, where it will face Japan at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on November 27, before it concludes the campaign in the group stage by facing Germany at Al Bayt Stadium on December 1.
Costa Rica qualified in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil to the second stage after being in a group that included Italy, England and Uruguay at the time, to defeat Japan in the round of sixteen, before losing in the quarterfinals to the Netherlands via penalty kicks. However, Costa Rica’s participation in 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia was not to expectations, Where the team got eliminated at the group stage, without no victories.
The Costa Rican national team chose the dusitD2 Salwa, in the center of Doha, as the residence for the national team during the tournament and will conduct its training at the Al Ahli Sports Club stadium.
Costa Rica qualified for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 after finishing fourth in the Concacaf qualifiers, making it to the World Cup qualifiers, beating the winner of the Oceania qualifiers New Zealand, with a free goal in the match that was held at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Qatar.
(QNA)